Indicators You're Living a Saner Life

Several indicators – what you might call moments of truth – let you know you’re on the path to a freer, saner life.

For openers, you awake naturally each morning without an alarm clock. You have time in the morning for reflection and to contemplate what you want to do, who you'll be meeting, and what’s expected of you – a more palatable way to start the day than feeling as if you’re in a super rush. Start the day in hectic mode, and the whole day might stay that way.

You have the ability to leave the workplace on time and become engrossed with your next activity rather than with thoughts of work. Perhaps you're going straight home, meeting a friend, or attending an event. Finishing work at a reasonable hour, at least a couple of times a week, is something we can all achieve. It’s within our grasp.

You play with your child for hours on a Saturday afternoon, with little or no concern about the time. This comes in contrast to your Saturdays of yesteryear that were filled with all manner of activities, many of which were entirely unrewarding.

You have dinner early in the evening, at a leisurely pace. This eases digestion and helps you maintain your weight. The slower you digest your food and the more time it takes you to finish dinner, the less likely you'll overeat.

You subscribe or re-subscribe to the local community theater's fall series, or you engage in a hobby with renewed enthusiasm. Such activities play an important role in maintaining a well-balanced life.

You make a new friend at least once a month. Like the Bette Midler song goes, "you gotta have friends." New friends open up new vistas, allowing you to experience the world in different ways.

You volunteer for a charitable activity that interests you. You've been thinking of doing this for the longest time, but now, you're ready to act. When you devote your time to a cause, it's as if you're telling your subconscious "I'm prosperous enough in my life that I can be of service to others.”

You fit into clothes once put away because you had "overgrown" them. Most people gain a pound a year following high school. If you set a realistic goal, such as losing one to three pounds a month, you could be twelve to thirty-six pounds lighter within a year.

You take naps throughout the week and feel good about it. Men reportedly can take naps during the day more easily than women. If you're a woman, however, don't let that data thwart your quest to take a twenty-minute snooze when you have the opportunity. When you awake, you could feel like a different person.

You view a sunrise once a month and you witness many sunsets. Since the beginning of Earth, the sun has risen in the east and set in the west, and each day these events are glorious. How many have you witnessed recently?

You frequent some of your area's best parks. Occasionally you feed the ducks, walk the trails, or rustle through the leaves, and you remember how important it is to maintain your connection with nature. Surrounded by too much steel, glass, and concrete for too long will keep you out of sorts.

You notice that your savings or retirement account has grown to a lofty sum. This is within your grasp if you start now, regardless of your age. Putting away a little each week, you might surprise yourself as to how much you can accumulate. You can be among that tiny group within the population that actually achieves financial security.

Jeff Davidson is "The Work-Life Balance Expert®," is a preeminent time management authority, has written fifty-nine mainstream books, and is an electrifying professional speaker. He is the premier thought leader on work-life balance issues and has been widely quoted in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, and USA Today. Cited by Sharing Ideas Magazine as a "consummate speaker," Jeff believes that career professionals today in all industries have a responsibility to achieve their own sense of work-life balance, and he supports that quest through his website www.BreathingSpace.com.

Replies

After reading this, I think I'll take a walk around the park, kick some leaves, feed the ducks, and reconnect with nature. Sometimes we just need to take time to be human instead of trying (in vain) to be superhuman. Thanks Jeff.